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Time Warner Cable broadband customers who briefly unplug their modems to reset them will discover slightly improved download and upload speeds from the cable company.
Multiple customers from around the country have reported to Stop the Cap! Internet speeds have been over-provisioned by at least 10 percent as of this week and the PowerBoost feature that delivered a short burst of faster speed during the first few seconds of a download appears to be discontinued.
Before
On average customers can expect the following speeds:
- Standard (was 15/1Mbps) is now 16.5/1.2Mbps
- Turbo (was 20/2Mbps) is now 22/2.2Mbps
- Extreme (was 30/5Mbps) is now 34/5.6Mbps
- Ultimate (was 50/5Mbps) is now 55/5.6Mbps
We have also heard from four different customers that Time Warner Cable has started providing a DOCSIS 3 modem for Turbo customers, which means those considering Turbo service and planning to buy their own modem will best be served choosing a DOCSIS 3 compatible unit. We continue to highly recommend the Motorola SB6141.
After
We do not expect Time Warner Cable to advertise the speed increases. They are likely a result of the discontinuation of the PowerBoost feature which was first offered to Time Warner Cable customers in New York City in 2008 and became available nationwide a year later for Standard and Turbo tier customers.
The Federal Communications Commission’s ongoing verification of the nation’s largest ISPs advertised speeds would have registered a broad-based speed decline had Time Warner simply discontinued the temporary speed boost technology. PowerBoost does affect speed test results because it provides a temporary speed bump during the download speed verification process. By “over-provisioning” customers’ broadband speeds, the company can compensate for the change and likely even see an improvement of its speed ranking by the FCC’s testing program.
Time Warner Cable increased broadband rates by $3.00 this summer and raised its monthly modem rental fee to $5.99 this month.
Not seeing a difference here.
Try unplugging your modem for 10 seconds and then plug it back in. That was the only way I received the updated speeds.
I did a reboot and noted a slight downstream boost out of 5 separate tests and no upstream boost. I’m in the process of port my home phone to Ooma and terminating all but my broadband service with Time Warner (no alternative provider here) anyhow. I have filed a discrimination complaint with the FCC against CBS for blocking my Internet access to online content based on my geographical location. If IP companies are not allowed to block or route traffic, then neither should a broadcaster. It’s a can of worms for Net Neutrality, but the discrimination aspect is solid.
What city are you in?
Rome, NY
In Webster NY I have the 20/2 service and I am now seeing 21.45/2.15. Not a big difference but more is better I suppose.
I’m in Los Angeles California. And new modem reactivating issue not withstanding, I do see the new upstream speed increase. This was done in µTorrent 2.0.4.
µTorrent Setup Guide
µTorrent will test your network and configure itself for best performance.
Bandwidth USA, CA, Mountain View
Results: Upload: 2.35 Mbit/s (288.0 kB/s) Download: 20.15 Mbit/s (2.4 MB/s)
I’m upgrading to Extreme after cancelling my TWC Phone and TV service yesterday. I was given the promotional deal of $64.99 per month for 12 months of Extreme Broadband. I’m eager to put the 34MB/5.6MB pipe through its paces. Hopefully, I will have Google Fiber in my home before the promotional period expires.
I guess I’m not the only one hoping that GFiber arrives before my promo rate is up then. TWC is keeping me on the 50/5 tier for now, though my bill is going up by $10 + tax thanks to a less aggressive promotion this time around. I figure that my bill will be about $96 including tax either this cycle or next. Not the most I’ve paid for home broadband, but $19 more got me 10 Mbps more on the upload side with Comcast. Getting back on-topic, I was uploading some video to YouTube yesterday and clocked in at… Read more »
I spoke to someone at Oceanic Time Warner Cable today regarding this article. Time Warner sent out an e-mail blast, which cited this Stop the Cap blog posting today. There is no set timetable when this speed increase will be pushed nationwide. It is only happening in a limited area of the United States, as far as I understand.
I was downloading some software updates when I noticed my download speed was a bit higher than normal. I did a speedtest, which showed I was getting about 16.2Mbps download speed now. They must’ve pushed the upgrade through the server instead of doing it manually through the CMTS.
Ok, I’m actually afraid to powercycle my modem. Since I bought my own, they’d forgotten to cap it. I get 20-32Mbps when I’m paying for Standard @ 15Mbps. Once or twice as high as 38Mbps. I don’t want to see 16Mbps now!!! LOL